A few days ago I wrote about how blogger Flip Pidot of Suitably Flip found that while the Hillary Clinton campaign vowed to give the Norman Hsu campaign contributions to charity, his name still appeared in a list of "HillRaisers," top-dollar fundraisers and bundlers for the Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential race.
Now reporter and blogger Robert Stacy McCain has an interview on the Washington Times Web site with Pidot. Below are some questions pertaining to Hsu and Pidot's research and blogging about the Clinton contributor:
Q: You actually went to the New York address listed on Norman Hsu's [Federal Election Commission] forms. ... Did you see anything?
A: The building publishes its floor plans on its Web site, so I was able to determine which corner was Hsu's place ahead of time. Looking up at the third-floor apartment from street level, all I could really tell was that Hsu's blinds were all shut, and it seemed to be dark inside. I rang the buzzer for his unit a couple of times, but either no one was home or they weren't receiving callers. I went inside to talk to the doorman, who was very pleasant until he learned who I was looking for. Then he kicked me out.
Q: The big mystery with Hsu seems to be: Where did all that money come from? Got any ideas? Did he have some legitimate business income source that everybody's overlooking?
A: That's the $1.6 million question. For a man who was apparently broke 15 years ago, he sure has done well for himself since. Several businesses are listed on the campaign finance disclosures as Hsu's employer — Next Components, Because Men's Clothing, Cool Planets, Norman Hsu himself. ... But attempts to locate the businesses or find anyone in the industry who can recall doing business with them have failed. Their records with the State Department either can't be found or are out of date. Their only observable activity seems to be employing some of the other names in Hsu's shady network of fundraising sources.
So how Hsu built up enough wealth to be able to float — then forfeit — $2 million in bail money is still anyone's guess. The most ominous possibility is that Hsu himself is a front for some overseas party, attempting to influence the American policy. But to my knowledge, there's no evidence of that. For all we know, Norman Hsu is simply a convicted con man and serial fugitive whose huge political contributions could be financed through good old-fashioned swindling.
With Hsu back in custody, we may finally begin to get some answers
